Brawl disrupts 5 Star Wrestling press conference in Sheffield
Violence erupts at TV series launch
American star’s fury after rival stands up for Brits
Big matches signed and world class roster announced for FreeSports show
New date added to historic arena tour

Former WWE superstar Jake Hager was unveiled as 5 Star Wrestling’s big new signing and within minutes ended up in a fight with his first opponent.
The dual sports superstar formerly known as Jack Swagger brawled with Eddie Ryan at a press conference in Sheffield after ‘The English Lion’ was riled up by the American’s disrespectful attitude towards British wrestlers.
Former World Champion Hager, who has also signed for Mixed Martial Arts group Bellator, and Ryan went nose-to-nose before violence broke out.
Fists flew and Ryan had to be dragged out of the media room as Hager was left trying to regain composure in front of the assembled press.
Hager will make his in-ring debut for 5 Star Wrestling against ‘The English Lion’ live on FreeSports at the Liverpool Echo Arena on February 1.
The 35-year-old amateur wrestling All-American from Oklahoma was unveiled at Monday’s press conference at the Fly DSA Arena and immediately tore into his British rivals.

“5 Star Wrestling is about to put British wrestling back on the map and we’re going to do it because of me,” said the 6 ft 7in Hager.
“I’m the American, I’m the guy with the expensive suit on. I don’t care about these other guys. American wrestling is on a higher level than British wrestling. So I’m here to raise the level and make 5 Star Wrestling actually five stars. All these other guys, they don’t matter.”
Plymouth-born grappler Ryan then interrupted Hager and stood up for his fellow British wrestlers.
“We’re on the up, you should show us some respect,” said the Swindon-based fighter.
“We’re part of the best wrestling culture in the world right now. Wrestling is no bigger than it is right now, here in the UK.”

Ryan’s remarks clearly touched a nerve as Hager lost his cool and lunged across the podium, grabbing ‘The English Lion’ around the throat. Other wrestling stars jumped in to pull the two men apart and the American was sent flying into the wall before once again trying to attack the Brit.

Eventually the two men were separated and hot-headed Hager spent several minutes calming down in his seat before answering questions from journalists.
Earlier, Liverpool wrestling star Zack Gibson had added fuel to the Britain v America debate with some pointed remarks in defence of the UK wrestling scene.
“British wrestling used to be the envy of the entire wrestling world,” he told the media.
“Somewhere along the way we lost that top spot and the big American company (WWE) monopolised wrestling and people in Britain started parodying that big American company, and the Americans started taking the big money and the Brits had to sit on the sidelines and watch them take it all.
“5 Star Wrestling have given us a unique opportunity to take back what belongs to us. To take back the top spot. I know that we are going to pack the arenas with a lot of casual fans and a mainstream audience who are going to tune in to watch the big American names. But I promise everyone that they are going to keep tuning in to watch a hungry British roster, the best roster you can find anywhere around the world.”
The self-proclaimed ‘Liverpool’s Number 1’ also spoke about Rey Mysterio, his American opponent on the 5 Star Wrestling launch show at the Liverpool Echo Arena on Thursday, February 1.
“Rey Mysterio might be rocking up to my home city for a nice little payday and a nice little performance,” he said.
“But when he rocks up at the Echo Arena he’s going to get the best of me, just like the other Yanks are going to get the best of British talent and we are going to put our industry back on top where it belongs.
“That man is going to walk into the Hall of Fame and rightfully so. But he’s also the best stepping stone 5 Star Wrestling could have laid in front of a talent who is looking to make a name for himself. Obviously because it’s in my home town I put my name forward for the title match but God forbid that a British wrestler actually main events a British wrestling show! What I will be doing is using Rey Mysterio’s name to put my name right up there.”
Love Island star Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted, who dubs himself ‘British Wrestling’s Most Handsome Man’ also spoke at the press conference.
The Northern Irish reality star and pro wrestler, who appeared on the ITV show in 2016, has signed to appear on all of the 5 Star Wrestling tour and TV dates.
“I am a celebrity, a reality TV star, a guy with more social media followers than everyone in this room combined,” boasted Maxted.
“I am the most handsome man in wrestling, I have the best physique in British wrestling and that’s why 5 Star knew they had to sign me. Facing Rey Mysterio (in Belfast on March 1) is a huge opportunity for me and I will use that opportunity to make an even bigger name for myself in my home city.”
In other announcements at the Sheffield media day, most of the 5 Star Wrestling roster was confirmed by lead 5 Star Wrestling commentator Greg Lambert, who hosted the event alongside his broadcast partner Joe Hendry.
Aside from the already-announced 5 Star Champion John Morrison, Mysterio, Maxted, Hager and Rob Van Dam, they include former WWE superstars Carlito, PJ Black (Justin Gabriel) and Chris Masters, Impact Wrestling’s former American Football stand-out Moose, Joey Axl from Australia and top Brits including El Ligero, Jack Jester and Dave Mastiff.
Roster names announced so far are:
5 Star Champion John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, Jake Hager, Adam ‘Flex’ Maxted, ‘The Masterpiece’ Chris Masters, Carlito, PJ Black, Moose, ‘The English Lion’ Eddie Ryan, ‘Liverpool’s Number 1’ Zack Gibson, Rampage Brown, El Ligero, Dave Mastiff, Big Grizzly, ‘The Professional’ Nathan Cruz, Charlie Sterling, Jack Jester, Kid Fite, Lou King Sharp, Joey Axl
It was also revealed that Yorkshireman Rampage Brown will face Rey Mysterio at the Fly DSA Arena in Sheffield on February 15.
5 Star Wrestling also announced a 12th live date for their UK tour. On February 22 the live FreeSports TV show will emanate from the Pavilions in Plymouth, home town of Eddie Ryan. Tickets go on sale on Thursday from www.5starwrestling.co.uk .
And Richard Webb, operations director at FreeSports, announced that the all-sports channel will also air a 5 Star Wrestling weekend highlights show in addition to the live TV special on Thursdays.
“It’s a really exciting time for us,” said Mr Webb.
“In September we launched our free-to-air sports channel. It’s currently in 18 million homes. Sky Sports are in six million homes and BT Sport are in six million homes but we can reach 18 million of the 26 million UK homes. We have a whole range of sports and will be live this year with more than 1,000 events – ice hockey, pool, rugby, football and wrestling. And it’s all free.
“The really great thing about this product is to have a live wrestling promotion every Thursday with big arenas and big budgets, a three-hour show. What’s not to like about it?
“We will also air repeats and cut the show down into a one-hour highlights programme to air on Saturday and Sunday mornings which I think will work really well.
“It’s a great opportunity for the channel. The audience figures are positive. Things are going in the right direction and it can only get better by adding 5 Star Wrestling. There is a huge wrestling following out there. The posts we have put on social media about 5 Star Wrestling, we’ve been blown away. We’ve had about a quarter of a million views. That really bodes well for strong viewing figures.
“We also plan to sell this product abroad. There isn’t a lot of live wrestling televised and there are literally hundreds of sports channels around the globe so this is a great opportunity to get this brand across the globe as time goes on.
“I can’t wait for the first show to happen in a few weeks’ time!”
5 Star Wrestling LIVE on FreeSports kicks off on Thursday, February 1 from 7pm to 10pm live on FreeSports when the action comes from the Echo Arena in Liverpool.
Already announced for the Liverpool event are a 5 Star Championship match between former WWE stars John Morrison (champion) and Rob Van Dam (challenger), Rey Mysterio vs Zack Gibson and Jake Hager vs ‘The English Lion’ Eddie Ryan.
5 Star Wrestling will then visit the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle on February 8 featuring Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, Adam Maxted and the 5 Star Wrestling roster.
The touring company will then appear at the Fly DSA Arena in Sheffield on February 15 with Mysterio vs Brown on the bill, before vising Plymouth (February 22), Belfast (March 1) which includes Maxted vs Mysterio, Aberdeen (March 8), Manchester (March 22), Leeds (March 29), Birmingham (April 5), Dundee (April 19), Blackburn (April 26) and Cardiff (May 10) with more dates to be announced.
5 Star Wrestling will be live on FreeSports every Thursday from 7pm to 10pm starting on February 1. This will be the first ever live wrestling show produced by a British wrestling company to air on prime time mainstream television and the only live weekly TV wrestling show to originate from anywhere in Europe.
Buy tickets
The early bird tickets for all 11 events on sale have sold out but you can be part of the 5 Star Wrestling LIVE TV experience by heading over to www.5starwrestling.co.uk for all the ticket details.
Tiered seating (£30) and floor (£45) tickets are available as well as a limited number of VIP tickets (£150) which include the chance to get up close and personal with the stars of 5 Star Wrestling including access to a VIP pre-show meet and greet, priority ringside seats in the front two rows and exclusive signed 5 Star Wrestling merchandise. VIP ticket holders will also have their photo taken with the legendary high-flying masked wrestling superstar and former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio, before the show.
Children under 14 are allowed but must be accompanied and seated by an adult at all times.
Live shows start at 6.30pm. Doors open at 5.30pm with the VIP meet and greet running from 4pm-5.30pm.

Announced Tour Dates So Far
Rey Mysterio will lead the 5 Star roster on a tour of the UK’s biggest arenas. 11 shows in 11 different cities have been announced, with events running in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Watch LIVE on FreeSports
You can see 5 Star Wrestling LIVE on FreeSports on Freeview (ch 95), Sky (ch 424), Freesat (ch 252), Talk Talk TV (ch 95) and BT TV (ch 95) starting Thursday, February 1st 2018 from 7pm to 10pm. 5 Star Wrestling: LIVE on FreeSports will be repeated several times throughout each week.

5 Star Facts and Figures
• 15 million Facebook accounts in the UK ‘like’ professional wrestling
• Over 7 billion pro wrestling videos were viewed worldwide on YouTube in 2017
• The 5 Star roster including Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam and John Morrison have over 26 million followers across social media
• FreeSports is available to more than 18 million homes nationwide
• 5 Star Wrestling is the only live TV wrestling series to originate from Europe

Quote
“For the first time ever, wrestling fans here in the UK will have their own LIVE TV series, filled with some of the biggest stars from around the world. No more staying up until 4am on school-nights to see the main event. No more paying out for expensive subscription packages. It’s LIVE 7-10pm, it’s FREE, it’s being broadcast from major arenas all around the United Kingdom and it starts in less than a month’s time at the Liverpool Echo Arena, with John Morrison vs Rob Van Dam and the legendary Rey Mysterio.”
Dan Hinkles, Creator of 5 Star Wrestling.